


The Wager

by the_awkward_nerd



Category: Psych
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 09:56:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3442889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_awkward_nerd/pseuds/the_awkward_nerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lassiter makes a bet with Shawn that has interesting results.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wager

**Author's Note:**

> The flashback is from s03e01 "Ghost" an episode which also contained a discussion between Shawn and his mother about his lack of second dates and commitment, so you could say it inspired this fic.

_1995_

_Carlton Lassiter was a rookie cop, eager to please but not very knowledgeable. So when a big-shot detective yelled at him to book someone, he didn’t know what to do. Was he really talking to_ him _? He had been too busy trying to get a good look at the kid he arresting._

_“Nevermind! I’ll get him,” the detective snarled after Lassiter’s failure to immediately respond._

_He watched him drag the punkass teenager across the floor and harrumphed to himself. The stupid rebel. He’d just put Lassiter on Henry Spencer’s bad side. “I hope you never get a girlfriend,” he muttered._

 

Present

Carlton Lassiter strode across the station floor like he owned it because he practically did. He was head detective and this was his domain. Spying Shawn and Gus bickering at the water cooler- over something trivial, no doubt, like their favorite CHIPS character- he made his way over to them.

“What seems to be the problem? Can’t decide which filthy food truck to go to today?” he snarked.

“Actually,” Gus answered, “I was just trying to give Shawn some sound relationship advice.”

“Spencer? In a relationship?”

“Exactly my point,” said Gus.

“It’s been known to happen!” Shawn put in indignantly.

“Shawn, the last girlfriend you had for more than a week was in high school.”

“Not true! I dated Melinda for three weeks!”

“If by ‘dated’ you mean ‘harassed and stalked’ then sure.”

“Can I help it if we like all the same restaurants?”

“She put out a restraining order on you Shawn.”

Lassiter chuckled. “Oh Spencer. Will you ever be in a relationship?”

“I’m really good at first dates,” Shawn explained.

“I bet you couldn’t make it to a second date if you tried,” said Lassiter.

“I certainly could! I have game, man.”

“I’ll bet you $20 you can’t. Actually, I bet you $20 you can’t even find a girl you’re interested enough in to bother taking her for a second date. In, say, the next two weeks.”

“You’re on,” said Shawn, shaking his hand with emphasis.

Lassiter walked away laughing to himself.

“Well, you just lost 20 bucks,” said Gus.

“Ye of little faith!”

“Let’s face it Shawn. You hate commitment. You won’t even admit you like a girl for more than a day. You’re screwed.”

Shawn just looked determined. “I will win this bet. I am going to beat Lassie.”

 

 

DAY ONE

Shawn took a seat at the bar. “Beer please.”

He looked around. He could find someone nice and interesting right here, right now. Win the bet in a day. Wouldn’t Lassiter be surprised.

Hmmm. There was a blonde to his right. She was hot, that was a good start. He sipped his drink. He looked at her hand and saw an indentation on her ring finger. Married, and cheating. Next.

There was dark skinned woman with dreads behind him. He turned to observe her out of the corner of his eye. She was also looking at the blonde. Lesbian. Next.

The yoga instructor was a health nut, so she was out. The brown eyed girl in the back smoked marijuana; his father would certainly chew him out if he went after her. There was a promising looking brunette, but she had a boyfriend.

Just as Shawn was giving up hope, a tall redhead slid into the seat next to him. “Hey,” she said.

“Hi,” he replied. “How are you tonight?”

“I’m doing great, yeah,” she replied. She had a harsh British accent. “How about you?”

“I solved a murder today, so…pretty well.”

She looked spooked. “You a copper?”

“Am I a penny?”

She rolled her eyes. “A policeman.”

“Oh, no,” Shawn laughed. “I just work with them sometimes. I’m a psychic detective.”

“A psychic, huh?”

“You’re a skeptic?”

“Tell me what I’m about to do,” she challenged.

“It doesn’t work like-“ Shawn was interrupted by her lips on his.

“Didn’t see that coming, did you psychic boy?” she taunted.

“No, but I did see you steal my wallet.” He held out his hand. “I’m going to need that back.”

She looked panicked.

“Relax, I’m not going to report you. I’m not a copper or whatever. Just give me my wallet back.”

She tossed it to him and slid off the stool. “Pity. We could have had a nice night.”

“Yeah, while you robbed me blind,” he muttered as she walked away. He put his head down on the counter. This was impossible. He was definitely losing this bet.

He heard another body sit down next to him.

“Not going well, Spencer?” said a deep voice.

“Lassie?” he said, picking his head up off the counter.

“Scotch, please,” Lassiter ordered.

“Why are you here?” Shawn asked.

“I thought I’d come see how you were doing. It doesn’t look like you’ve been very successful.”

“It’s the first day Lassie. Give me some time to work some magic.”

“I’m not holding my breath.”

They made small talk, about cases and things at the station. Shawn found that Lassiter was surprisingly easy to talk to. A few drinks in, Lassiter started talking about him and Victoria.

“I laugh at you, Spencer, but I really can’t blame you. What’s the use of commitment when it’s just going to end ugly anyway?” Lassie said with more emotion than he had intended.

Shawn was silent for a moment. “My parents split when I was in high school,” he said quietly. “It really messed me up. I guess I’m scared to go through that again.” _Why the hell am I telling Lassiter this?_ Shawn decided he shouldn’t order any more beers.

“I don’t know why people even bother. Relationships never work for long,” said Lassiter, sounding sad.

“Aww, Lassie. It doesn’t always fall apart,” said Shawn. Not that he had much proof of this in his own life, but he decided not to say that aloud.

“Every relationship I was ever in did. Victoria hated me by the end.” The scotch was clearly getting to him.

“She…doesn’t know what she’s missing out on,” Shawn said awkwardly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re…strong. And devoted. And hardworking and passionate about your work.” Shawn could feel himself turning red.

“In other words, I’m a really good cop, and a really shit husband.”

“I’m sure you’re a great husband. You just have to find someone who understands what it’s like to be a cop.” Okay, this was really not where he had seen this conversation going.

“Eh. Maybe I’m better off alone. I can focus on my work.”

Shawn glanced over, and he could swear those steely blue eyes were a little wetter than usual.

“There’s always Jules. And me and Gus. You’re not quite alone.” Shawn wasn’t really sure what to say in a situation like this. How did he end up talking about this with Lassiter of all people? This was not the Lassiter Shawn knew. He seemed… fragile. And Shawn felt strangely protective. Sure, Lassie was irritating sometimes, but he was human too. And was clearly had a lot more going on inside than he let on sober.

“Why don’t we get you home, Lassie? I think you’ve had your fill of scotch for tonight.”

Shawn was fairly drunk himself, but he called a cab for Lassie and Gus for himself and said goodnight to the head detective.

 

DAY FIVE

Shawn had been to every bar in Santa Barbara, and his liver was not thanking him for it. He hadn’t found a single girl he was interested in enough to see her for more than one night.

“This bet is really killing my game, Gus,” he complained as they walked through the marina with fresh churros. “I’m so busy looking for a two date girl I can’t find any one date ones.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” said Gus, taking a bite of delicious Mexican goodness. “You’re going to have to grow up sometime. Commitment is part of adulthood.”

“Says the man who has already been divorced.”

“I was drunk, and Mira was practically using mind control. It doesn’t count. And now I’m just waiting for Mrs. Right.”

“Well, so am I!”

“Shawn, Mrs. Right could come up and talk to you and you would run screaming the other direction.”

Shawn ignored him and concentrated on his churro.

“Why were you with Lassie the other night at the bar? You never told me.”

“He just showed up. I don’t even know how he knew where I was.”

“Oh, um. I told him.”

“When were _you_ talking to Lassiter?” asked Shawn with interest and- was that jealousy?

“I was at the station getting our check and I ran into him. He asked me where you were.”

“He _asked_ about me? And then he came and found me?”

“He’s probably just keeping tabs. Checking how the bet is going.”

“You’re telling me that’s not weird to you at all?” Shawn wasn’t sure how to feel about this development.

“What’s weird is that you made a bet with Lassiter about your love life.”

“You know I can’t refuse a bet, Gus.”

“Whatever. So what did he do at the bar when he found you?”

“Oh, I don’t know. We just talked,” said Shawn evasively.

“You chatted. With Lassiter. For, what. Two hours?” Gus was unconvinced. “Without killing each other?”

“Lassie’s a nice guy, he just doesn’t know how to show it.” Shawn’s words surprised even him.

“What did you talk about for two hours, Shawn?”

“I can’t even remember. We were a little drunk.”

“Yeah, I noticed that much. It was weird. You don’t go get drunk with Carlton Lassiter.”

“C’mon Gus, he’s our friend. Like the weird friend down the street you don’t always want to play with but a friend.”

Gus just looked skeptical.

 

DAY TEN

Shawn was getting desperate.

“Four days, Gus. Four days is all I have,” he said as they walked towards the station.

“You got yourself into this, don’t expect me to conjure up some perfect woman for you.”

“Maybe I can ask Jules out. I could definitely be with her for two dates,” Shawn mused.

“You would, but she wouldn’t,” Gus replied.

“Oh, if I really turned on the charm-“

“You’ve been turning on the charm for the past year and it’s gotten you nowhere.”

Shawn just moaned softly to himself. “Four days…”

They entered the station with Shawn still pondering his dilemma. He was pondering so intently he almost ran into Lassiter.

“Watch where you’re headed, Spencer,” he snapped.

“Woah, chillax Lassie,” said Shawn, a bit taken aback. After their talk in the bar he thought maybe Lassiter would be a little nicer to him, but apparently not.

The head detective walked quickly away and back to his desk. Shawn hesitated, then followed.

“What’s up, Lassieface?” he asked brightly, perching on the corner of his desk.

“Spencer, get your ass off of my desk.”

“Oh, Lassie, I know you like it,” said Shawn tauntingly, shaking his hips a little as he got up.

“Beat it, Spencer,” said Lassiter not even bothering to look at him.

“Why so serious Lassie?”

“I’m trying to get work done so I can catch criminals. Some of us have a job that does not involve… ridiculous antics.”

This was not the conversation Shawn had wanted to have. He took a deep breath and tried to start over. “Lassie,” he said, and Carlton turned to look at him with anger written all over his face which, damn that was hot- wait, hot? Where the hell had that come from?- and Shawn lost his train of thought entirely. “Um. I- yeah. Well…” said Shawn recovering oh so smoothly. Dammit. Another deep breath.

“Lassiter. I just was wondering how you’re doing.”

Lassiter raised an eyebrow. “Since when do you care about me?”

“Well, I mean, the other night at the bar you seemed-“

“The other night at the bar was a mistake. I was drunk.”

“Hey, you came looking for me,” said Shawn defensively.

Lassiter’s ears were turning a strange shade of pink. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” he said shortly, looking down at the papers on his desk.

“No it wasn’t- I didn’t mind. Really. I just wanted to check on you and see if everything was, you know, okay.” Shawn was inwardly kicking himself for how weird he was making this.

“I assure you, Spencer, I’m just fine. Thank you for inquiring.” Lassiter had gone stiffly formal.

Shawn nodded awkwardly and walked away.

“Okay, what just happened?” Gus asked. “First you go drinking together, and now you’re talking to him at the station?”

“I talk to Lassie all the time, Gus.”

“Not like that,” Gus pointed out.

Luckily, Jules came up to them to ask about a case, rescuing Shawn from having to answer. Shawn tried asking her out for the bet, but his heart wasn’t in it. He was still thinking about Lassiter.

 

DAY TWELVE

Shawn was laying on the couch in the Psych office, staring at the ceiling. He had pretty much resigned himself to the fact that he had lost the bet. But now he had more important things to think about. And by ‘things’ he meant ‘Lassiter.’

What exactly had happened between them? Just a drink and a few awkward conversations. So why did it feel like so much more?

“Gus, how do you feel about Lassiter?” he asked his friend who was actually doing something productive. Or possibly playing Tetris.

“Well, I think he’s a good cop who is maybe a little too invested in his work. But then, it’s not like he has anything else going on in his life that it’s taking time away from.” He paused. “Shawn, why are you asking me this?”

“I’m just thinking,” he said vaguely.

“About Lassiter? What is going on between you?”

“Nothing! I’m just trying to get a handle on him.”

Gus just rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to know, Shawn.”

Shawn ignored him and kept his eyes on the ceiling. Lassiter. What Gus had said made sense. It felt like something more because it was. Lassiter was friends with the group of them at the station, but he didn’t open up. He didn’t seem to be close to anyone. So when he told those things to Shawn, that was different from any other friendship in his life. It was more than the weird, we-act-like-we-hate-each-other-but-really-we-kind-of-respect-each-other friendship they had had for so long.

Friendship. Yeah, that’s what it was. Right?

 

DAY FOURTEEN

Shawn was nervous. What if he was wrong? What if he was really, really wrong?

He tried to hang inconspicuously around the station, talking to Buzz and Jules, until he saw Lassiter head back to the filing room, which was almost always empty, and he hurried after him.

“Hey, Lassie.”

“Spencer,” he replied casually.

“I’m here about our bet,” said Shawn. “It’s been two weeks.”

“So, Spencer? Did you find a girl you’re not going to ditch after a night?” Lassiter asked.

“Well, I did find someone I’m really interested in,” said Shawn. “I haven’t asked them yet though.”

Lassiter looked slightly shocked. “This is a girl I have to meet,” he said, taking out his wallet. But Shawn was already handing him a twenty.

“You win, Lassie.”

“But you just said you found someone-“

“I didn’t say I found a girl I was interested in, and that was the bet.”

“But…” Surely Shawn couldn’t be saying what he thought he was saying. He felt his heart speed up. And if he was saying that, surely he couldn’t be talking about…

Shawn smiled innocently, but his heart was pounding. “Carlton Lassiter, would you like to go to dinner with me?”


End file.
